


One Thing Left

by hariboo



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Coda, F/M, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-11-14
Packaged: 2019-05-10 03:51:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14729420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hariboo/pseuds/hariboo
Summary: Direct aftermath for Jane and Thor in Infinity Wars.Cleaned up from the version I posted on tumblr.





	1. Chapter 1

It’s a beautiful country, Thor thinks, watching the sun set over the horizon of Wakanda. Asgard was beautiful too, is the sad and painful thought that trails it. Wakanda stands however, battle torn and half empty. It’s warriors walked from the battle field, not with the burn of glory and victory lighting within them, but with an painful fear of who will remain when they reach their home. The trek back is very silent. There are no ashes to walk on, but the world is a grave now.

 

As soon as they reach the city limits, the remaining warriors look between two of the leaders from the battle. The man’s name he heard on the field, M’baku. The woman’s name he has not. She is of higher or equal rank to the man from what he can tell. They were both capable in the field, Thor thinks. Their warriors trust them. He does not think of the Warriors Three who trusted him and no longer live.

 

At their leaders nods, the Wakandans scatter. Thor knows where they’re all going. They all have families and friends that they all hope remain.

 

The woman turns to him and the remaining Avengers and with what he’s sure would be a lovely smile if her lips were not down turned in a familiar picture of pain and grief, walks next to him as she leads them to the palace. He knows the look well, he’s seen in the reflections of windows for a week now. It colours the faces of everyone around him. To his other side Rogers is silent, hand clenched at his side. Their fellow compatriots walk silently behind them. He can feels Banner’s anxiousness and Romanoff’s stillness like weights on his back.

 

Walking up to the entrance of the palace, he watches the woman’s eyes trail rapidly across the threshold.

 

“Okoye!” A young voice calls out and an equally young girl follows. She looks truly scared and slams into Okoye’s body next to him with relief.

 

Okoye clutches at the young girl with a fierceness of a mother and the relief of a someone who just found some steadiness in her world again. She pulls back to cup the young girl’s face. There’s a bruise on her temple Okoye gently touches. “Princess, you’re okay, thank Bat. Your mother?”

 

The Princess has fat tears in the corner of her eyes. “She is okay, she’s gathering up all the remaining leaders, but Ayo and Xoliswa! They— something happened! Across the city half the population has been taken—they’ve disappeared. What happened?”

 

Okoye fingers clench on the Princess’ face and she nods, standing back, her back straight. Thor knows that look too. Mourning can only take place when the war is finished and he knows it’s not.

 

“We have to get to your mother.” She does not answer the Princess’ question. She looks over her shoulders and locks eyes with the large man with the furs. M’baku nods and sweeps ahead. He touches the princess’ shoulder quickly with gentle eyes and moves indoors.

 

The princess looks at her shoulder in surprise and her eyes snap up to Okoye again.

 

“Where is— where is my brother? Where is T’challa?”

 

_Brother._

 

Something threatens to break at the princess’ words.

 

Okoye’s face tells the princess everything before she even speaks the words. “The King is gone.”

 

_The King is gone._

 

There’s something soul shattering about the princess’s sobs. Thor feels the echo of their sound in his heart. Okoye, gently, every so gently pulls the princess into her embrace again. Nobody speaks until she begins moving.

 

Turning to Thor and the other, she keeps the princess’ face away from their eyes, tucked safely in her neck. “Come. We must go find the queen.”

 

She doesn’t wait for them as she walks forward, the princess at her side.

 

They follow, silently. Determined.

 

Midgard and the universe is broken in a way it’s never been before. Thanos is out there, still. They will not let that stand.

 

-

 

Jane is running around her borrowed office in the observatory. An hour ago, the world went into chaos. An hour ago, the world was at a war.

 

Now, Jane stands the in rubble of what’s left over. The Observatory is standing, the area around it untouched. Cape Town is truly beautiful. From a distance she can hear the sirens and alarms coming from the heart of the city. She isn’t paying them much mind.

 

Flipping open her backpack — she never did get into the habit of a briefcase — she pulls out the prototype of her newest version of the portal device. Her phone sits on her desk, alerts beeping in from all over the world. She ignores it. Turning to her laptop, she opens her last readings. She told Darcy — _oh god Darcy oh god Darcy_ — months ago that she had stopped paying attention to it, but she can’t help it. She checks every once in a while. A month ago it had sparked some new readings. Norway. Nothing there but broken metal when she got there. Darcy doesn’t know she went. Sif doesn’t know either, but she hasn’t heard from Sif in months.

 

Since then she’s kept the alerts on.

 

An hour ago it beeped again.

 

Ten minutes ago the world fell apart.

 

Jane packs her bag again, shoving her laptop and some papers in it. She clutches the metal she’s loops on a string against her chest and twists the once around her finger. In her bag, her laptop slides against the handle and the metal fragments she’s kept in there since Norway. It hasn’t been as heavy to carry as she thought.

 

Maybe the Wakandans will be able to help her with that, too.

 

When Wakanda opened itself to the world. She’s pretty sure they weren’t expecting this. She’s also sure they aren’t expecting her, but if Thor’s there— if Thor’s _still there_ then he’s surrounded by the only people on this planet that will give them a fighting chance at whatever comes next.

 

Last minute, she remembers her phone. Not her Starkphone, the other one.

 

It appeared in her home office about a year ago, one number programmed. For emergencies.

 

She hopes the owner is still around.

 

She doesn’t bother to call, but types out a quick message.

 

If they are still alive she’ll see them soon enough.

 

Closing her eyes, she programs her coordinates for where the Bifrost fell, and hopes.

 

-

 

She pops out on the ashes of a battlefield and realises her mistake.

 

“Halt!” She hears and wince. No, _now_ she realises her mistake.

 

“Fuck,” Jane mutters, spinning in place, her hands up, as she comes face to face with Wakandan soldiers. They’re all pointing their spears at her and Jane yelps. “Sorry! I’m human! I’m— I’m Dr. Jane Foster. Your princess invited me here?”

 

The soldiers raise their eyebrows, unbelieving, and Jane can’t fault them. She only met Princess Shuri once at one of Jane’s lectures in Brussels not long after Wakanda opened itself to the world. She had handed Jane a very cool touch screen business card that Jane had tried to reverse engineer for about a month. She hadn’t manage.

 

I should have called first, Jane thinks, but the words that come out of her mouth are: “I have this!” And she digs into one of her jacket pockets and pulls out the card in question. Swiping her fingers across the screen, an image emerges from it with Princess Shuri’s face.

 

“Dr. Foster, I’d love to speak more with you about your Foster Theory. Please feel free to get in contact with me when your schedule allows. The details will be on the card. Bye!”

 

They look at each other, sigh, and lowered their spears.

 

Jane grins.

 

And _this_ is why she never empties her pockets, Darcy.

 

-

 

In front of them the remaining ruling body of Wakanda are holding court with Rogers and Colonel Rhodes. Rhodes has just taken a call with Queen Regent Romanda and the remaining world council. Less than half of them remain; General Ross is gone. Thor watched as Banner twisted his fingers together and mouthed a name. His hands fisted on his trousers. Romanoff's eyes flicked towards him. The name had not been Natasha. Thor knows little about what was happening between them as when he was last on Midgard he had been splitting his time between New York and where Jane was.

 

Jane…

 

Her memory burns deeply in him. Her home based had moved from London to Edinburgh not long after Convergence, but institutions around the world were constantly calling her to work with them. It had been an interesting way to see the world. The thought brings a sharp ache in his heart. When he left they had been on tense but good terms despite what he implied to Loki, but he lost Jane too. Maybe more fully than he ever allowed himself to think. She could be gone now, like half the world, like half the universe, and every time he let his thoughts stray that way, he has to stop himself.

 

As Her Majesty and Rhodes continue their meeting with various world leaders, Queen Romanda offers Wakanda’s assistance. Her son was King until an hour ago, as he’s come to understand, and now she stands, straight backed, eyes wise, and heart most certainly broken. Thor tries not think of his mother, tries not think of how she looked after Loki’s first death. He thinks about he’s selfishly glad she did not have to live through his following two and Father’s. Or how she would have felt about Hela’s return. He can’t think on that, not now, not when Thanos lives and half the universe is gone. M’baku stands next to the Queen as she and Rhodes coordinate to bring Midgard back into balance. Families are gone, friends are gone, but so are many world leader and their governing bodies. In the aftermath, shock will reign, but once things settle down… good people have remained, but so have greedy and cruel people. Thanos did not better the universe, he only created instability on an already finely balanced scale. He did not understand what he would bring. Thor only understands now as he watches the ashes fall.

 

Soon, he leaves the meeting room with Rogers, Romanoff, Banner, Rocket, Princess Shuri, and her guard. They follow the Princess, her eyes still red rimmed and pulling at Thor’s heartstrings, to her lab.Rocket clambers up Thor’s cape and settles quiet on his shoulder. Thor allows him. He heard Groot’s last words. No father should lose his son. Once they reach the lab, he jumps down and curls up by a window. The Wakandans look at the talking racoon with wide eyes, but easy acceptance. The world they lived in now was not one were you could dismissed an ally, strange, small, and angry as they might be.

 

Rogers and Romanoff stand near each other. Okoye does not move more than five feet from the princess’ side. Banner hovers and paces across the room. At one point Natasha’s phone beeped and she looked down to it before moving to talk to Okoye about something.

 

So even now, in a room with allies and friends, Thor feels so completely alone. Useless in a way he never has before. Strombreaker pulses differently in his hand than Mjölnir did. It harnesses his power differently, requires more from him. He guesses it’s a good thing that in the last fortnight his powers have been raging high within him.

 

Speaking off, he feels them now. Bubbling under his fingertips. He clenches his hand, fingernails biting into his skin. Thinking of home and Loki and Jane has not done any good to his temperament. He tries to think of Krog and Valkyrie and the remaining Aesir who made it off the ship. He hopes they’ve found safe harbour. He hopes that with Asgard already gone, it’s population already halved by Thanos, the universe was kind to them and spared them all. Asgard indeed lives in the heart of its people, but if there are no people to keep its beat alive the Asgard is truly gone. The thought makes him hate Thanos more than he thought possible, it makes him hate Hela who if not for all the secrets in his family he may have loved. Something dark and bitter in him thinks they would have been well suited to each other. Goddess of Death and the warlord who courted it.

 

“Thor? Thor?”

 

Snapping back to the present, Thor turns. Rogers looks at him with kind, understanding eyes. Thor straightens. The captain’s empathy always shines clear in this eyes.“I am sorry, my mind drifted away from me.”

 

He nods, “It’s okay. We were just wondering… can you get us to Thanos?”

 

Thor considers this. He lifts Strombreaker. “I do not have Heimdall’s power of Sight across the universe. I cannot find someone who is where I don’t know, but I can get us off planet should we need to.”

 

Banner makes his turn around the room. “We have to find Tony too… I mean, if he’s—“

 

“We’ll find him,” Rogers says. Thor wishes he could sound as confident as him. Everything in him is struggling to keep it together. “And then we’ll find Thanos—“ The name sparks new anger in him, his fingers light up.

 

Everyone looks at him. Rocket lifts his head for the first time in a while. “You okay, big guy?”

 

Thor nods. He is not, but he has to be.

 

He has to be.

 

“You sure—“

 

His fingers spark.

 

Natasha gets cut off as a pair of guards enter the room.

 

“Okoye, Princess, there is a woman who—“

 

“Thor!”

 

Jane’s voice rings out and everything inside him stops. His focus narrows on her and her face as she turns the corner. She pushes past the guards that were flanking her and rushes across the room to him. He notes they go and stop her, and tenses, ready to intervene, but Okoye catches their eye and nods at them. They stand down.

 

It’s the most natural thing in the world to catch her in his arms and wrap his arms around her. His power immediately settles back into his skin at the feel of her weight under his hands. Jane’s arms are tight around his neck and he clutches her, her feet skimming off the ground. If she feels the remainder of the sparks in his fingers she says nothing; she’s familiar with the edges of his power anyway. He can feel the whisper of his name against his neck. How her body relaxes into his, her relief physical. His own body echoes it. The tightness in chest diminishes slightly. He buries his face in her hair for a second before pulling back to look into her eyes.

 

They are familiar and shining. He lifts one hand from her waist to wipe at the corner of her eyes.

 

“Jane,” he says. The first word in days that does not bring him pain.

 

Her fingers smooth through his hair, clutch it at the nape of his neck. She closes her eyes for a beat. “You’re okay, you’re okay....” she mutters and looks into his eyes. She blinks. “Your hair...” her eyes narrow and she touches his right eye and he knows she sees the difference in their colour. “Your...” He shakes his head. Not here, but now. She gives him a familiar sigh as her fingers skim his jaw. They’ll be talking about it later.

 

Jane leans back, her touch soft. He wants to lean into it further. He loosens his hold enough to let her touch the ground despite that everything in him wants to pull her in closer. Keep her with him.

 

“Thor, what happened?” she asks, voice steady, but scared. “I was in Cape Town on the phone with Darcy when she... then other people around me— My mom didn’t answer the phone. Neither did Sif.” And while that surprises Thor, but there’s no time to dwell on his friend and the flash of pain in his heart when he remembers Heimdall’s sacrifice. “What happened?” Her voice breaks. “ _What happened_?”

 

Thor hates he’s the one that has to tell her he failed, but she deserves to hear it from him.

 

“Thanos got the stones. We— I was too late,” he says. The name creating a new spark of pain in him. Jane looks at him and grabs his hand. She squeezes his fingers and slips them between her own. Thor grips her like a lifeline. He is surprised at how much her touch settles him still.

 

“It wasn’t your fault, Thor,” Rogers cuts in, reminding Thor they are not alone. Jane turns to face him. Steve smiles at her. “Hi, Jane.”

 

Thor takes a deep breath. Rogers is wrong, but it’s not the time for that. “Let us all talk,” he says instead.

 

Jane nods, shifting to stand at his side, as she looks across the room. As soon as she see Shuri, she blushes.

 

“I’m so sorry, Princess. I used this to get your guards to let me in,” and she pulls out a very small electronic card.

 

Princess Shuri smiles. “It’s alright, Dr. Foster. It is why I gave it to you. Though I thought you would call first, but under the circumstances I understand why you didn’t.”

 

Jane shrugs . “Yeah, sorry. It was rude, I know.” She turns to their friends. “Hi, guys.”

 

“I just got your message,” Romanoff says with a small smile. “A little more warning would have been nice. How did you get here so fast?”

 

“I’ll explain in a second. Hey, Bruce.” She reaches out to Banner, who steps up and gives her a slightly awkward hug since she’s still holding Thor’s hand. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

 

Banner grins; his first since Thor landed on Earth. “Hi, Jane. It’s good to see you, too.”

 

She snorts. “Understatement of the year. Catch me up?” She steps forward, tugging on Thor’s hand as she moves. Thor walks towards Princess Shuri with her. He doesn’t want to let go of her hand and thankfully Jane is not forcing the matter. As they fill Jane in on what’s happened in the last few days across the universe, Thor and Banner add in what happened on Sakaar and Asgard. Jane starts when he skims over what happened to Asgard and Heimdall and even Loki. She meets his eyes and while she says nothing he can see how her entire body sags, how her eyes mist, and she chokes back a sob at what she sees in his gaze. Her grip on his hand tightens and she presses her forehead to his bicep. He feels her lips brush his skin in silent comfort. They have too much to talk about. Banner, a good friend, better than Thor had thought a week ago, covers for them and quickly starts to explain what he knows of Stark, trapped somewhere in space. It gives Thor time to regroup before he adds in the facts of his journey these last few days. Rocket adds his own colourful commentary as Thor explains the creation of his axe. Jane to her credit only blinks at the talking raccoon.

 

“And is Eitri alright? Is Nidavellir still working?” she asks. He had almost forgotten he had taken there once to meet Eitri. How she had studied Nidavellir, how she wore a piece forged from there on her person, still. He can feel it against his palm.

 

Thor nods, catching the glint in Jane’s eye. “He does. Do you need his help?”

 

Jane hums. “Maybe later…” she says, pulling her bag closer to her. She turns to Rogers and Rhodes, who came into the room as they explained the situation to Jane, “So first thing first. You guys wanna find Tony, I mean, if he’s still—“

 

“Thor can get us into space,” starts Rogers. “His ham—his axe brought him here, didn’t it?”

 

“It did,” he affirms, quietly enjoying how Jane’s eyes light up at the fact. That she is still here, that her eyes still brighten at the science of Asgard, that her mind still looks for answers to reach the stars allows him to feel normal for the first time in days.

 

Turning to Rogers, he explains just how calling the Bifrost with his axe works. “But only if I know the location. It’s why I could get here. I do not have Heimdall’s power to look through the stars and locate a person in a place unknown. I require previous knowledge of the location. I cannot just call the Bifrost across the universe if I don’t know where I’m going even if I know who I’m looking for. Once I get closer to a location I can guide it better, but first I need to know the place I’m aiming for. But Jane, you can, can you not?”

 

Jane looks at him and bites her lip. The warm flare of affection and attraction at that familiar gesture makes Thor grin. He knows that look well. She can. He could kiss her. It surprises him how much he wants to right now.

 

“Not yet,” she says. Reaching in her pocket she pulls out a small device. “Tony helped me with some of the nanotech and the arc reactor, and I can now make the portals I used during Convergence to get around the planet. I didn’t want anyone to know I had the technology yet, it’s still mostly untested, and not as stable as I want it to be.” She swallows, her eyes flicking away from him. “I still get some vertigo if I go across the planet, but that’s what I was hoping Princess Shuri would help me with,” she says, turning to the princess. “Except now I think we might need to try to get a bit further than North America?”

 

At her words, Princess Shuri grins, her eyes (still a bit puffy form her earlier tears) crinkle from her smile. “Oh yes,” she moves across the room and holds her hands out for Jane’s device. Jane hands it over easily. “I think I can definitely help with that, Dr. Foster!” She pops the device under a Wakandan scanner and starts moving around her lab. Okoye gives a grateful look at Jane as she looks over her charge. Banner moves closer and eagerly listens to the princess explain Jane’s device and her idea to help boost Jane’s portals to span the universe. Rogers and Natasha walk over to Okoye and Thor knows they’re about to beginning planning what they’ll do next once the princess and Jane get the device to work. Thor knows he should go over to them, and he will, soon, but right now Jane is still by his side. She’s standing next him, her hand still in his, her eyes on the princess and her device, and soul intact.

 

Thor will move. He will plan with his friends, he will avenge his brother and the universe. They will fix this somehow, but for now, for this moment, Jane is here. He thinks about he told Rocket on the way to Nidavellir. _What more do I have to lose?_ Glancing at Jane, he realises is not willing to find out. He did not know what he had still, but now he does.

 

She must feel him looking at her and glances up at him. “Hey, you okay?”

 

He nods, and it feels true. “Better now that you’re here.” He lifts their joined hands and kisses her fingers.

 

She laughs, reaching up to cup his jaw and raises herself up on her tiptoes. Her lips brush against his cheek. “Same, you know. I didn’t think I’d— I’m… I feel better when you’re around.” Grabbing her bag, she nods her head toward the corner of her lab. “By the way, I have something else to tell you. I might have gone to Norway a month ago when I saw some Bifrost readings there.”

 

Thor lifts his brow, curious. Jane hands the bag to him and he pauses at the weight in it. He looks at her and realises she’s been holding it with ease for some time. Maybe since he lost it. Her eyes meet his and she grins.

 

“Surprise,” she says, eyes bright and Thor feels hope again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s takes them about an hour to leave the lab.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOOOOO... I'M CONTINUING THIS? i always had an idea for the SHORT continuation of the first part but my schedule is nutso rn and so i didn't want to commit to it when i already i'm trying to commit to pendulum, if anyone follows that series, but fosterson week is happening and... day two was "infinity war au etc~" so today is technically day three... four bc it's after midnight but like whatever. chapter 2! of three? 3 LOOK, IDK. in my mind i really tried to make chapter 1 read like it was deleted scene(s) of IW or opening scenes of a4, so they were snappier, moving quickly through plot pointbut FEELINGS TOOK A FRICKING TURN HERE and so we're gonna marinate in their feelings.

It’s takes them about an hour to leave the lab. Thor has been standing too close, and yet somehow not close enough, to her as she works with Princess Shuri— _please call me Shuri, Dr. Foster._ — _oh um, please call me Jane, Princess_ — on breaking down the portal device in order to remake it. Jane’s in the middle of breaking down how she’s hoping to achieve the quantum coupling as Shuri inputs the data into her machines, making small corrections and notes as she goes. Rocket, the talking raccoon — something Jane is Totally Cool with — has clambered up Thor’s ruined cape and settled on his shoulders throwing out random advice about layered systems while Thor explains to them the equivalent of the power used by the Bifrost and how Strombreaker channels it.

It’s around this moment when Queen Ramonda sweeps into the room, her face tired and drawn. Jane barely notices her. It’s only when she steps next to her daughter and pulls her into her arms that Jane really looks at the Queen. She has bags under eyes and her lips are pressed together hard. She smoothes a hand over her daughter’s face and presses a kiss to her temple.

“You all need rest.” Her voice is soft and holds the command of the room. Jane thinks of Frigga. She thinks of her mom. She looks towards Thor, who was standing opposite her; it’s the furthest he’s been from her since she entered the room. He’s looking at Queen Ramonda and Shuri with a sad smile on his face. Jane’s heart breaks all over again for him. Thor always tries to smile when he’s at his worst. The need to rush around the table and wrap him in her arms almost wins out, but he wouldn’t want that now. Neither would she. Her mother had been in London prepping her new semester’s curriculum last they spoke. Over a week ago. Now… her mother’s phone goes to voicemail. Jane blinks and looks away from the mother and daughter as well.

She slowly slides over to Thor side though. The second she touches his fingers he grips her hand tightly. She wraps her other hand over his. 

The polite (everybody) and not so polite (but Shuri and Rocket) refusals to Queen Ramonda’s request comes from all sides.

“Mom! We can’t stop now! This machine is gonna hell us get to Th—that—that monster!”

Steve steps up with a soft frown on his face. He looks gently from Queen Ramonda to Shuri. “We’re grateful, your highness, but we’re fine.” Natasha moves to his side in silent agreement. Bruce shifts awkwardly next to Rhodes who’s been rubbing at his knees while they plan. Rocket grumbles rudely making Thor reach out to him, but Rocket shrugs him off. Jane says nothing, because she actually agrees with the Queen, though she won’t deny she’s thinking of Thor in particular.

Queen Ramonda looks at all of them. “You are not.” She stands tall, her shoulders straight and she takes a step towards a workspace that had a necklace on one of its plinths. Her hand traces the sharp teeth like adornments. Oh. Jane looks away, looks at Thor, who’s eyes follow the Queen. “Do not try to argue with me because none of us are and from what I’ve gathered nobody left in the universe is save that mad man—that plague. So, with all due respect Captain,” she turns and looks at Steve square in the eye, “whatever you all are planning to do will not work if you all exhausted yourselves before you start. My daughter was injured-“

“Mother, I’m fine—“

“My daughter was injured. My son is gone. You all fought bravely and endlessly until there was nothing left fight against. Nobody in this room, in this world, is without pain or injury right now. We all need rest and time to gather the best of ourselves for those who did not come back from the fight and those who were stolen away on a painful whim.

Shuri, my darling, how long until you can start building this machine?”

Shuri looks at her mother with bright eyes full of awe and love. “Three hours until the everything is scanned and the new parts are processed through. Two if I push it.”

“How long will it take to build?”

Shuri twists her lips for a second. “About six hours—“

Jane clears her throat. “Three.”

“Three?” Shuri turns to Jane, her eyes widening.

“I’ve been timing myself in case I ever needed to build it under duress,” Jane shrugs, looking across the room, she smiles, “I didn’t think it’d be this kind of duress, but yeah. I’ve gotten it down to four hours, I can fix anything wrong with it in under 10 minutes, in theory, but building it? Four, but with your help I’m sure we can get it down to three.”

Shuri’s grin threatens to break her face. “That’s… so cool! So, six hours total. Totally doable!” She turns to her mom with a decisive nod. “Six hours.” 

Romanda nods. “So that’s six hours.” She turns back to the group. “There you go. You have six hours to rest, eat, do what you need to until the machine is finish. Until then it helps nobody to stand in this room, or does it?”

There’s no arguing that tone of voice. They file out of the lab. Steve hands her her bag. Thor steps forward just a second too late. “I’ll take that...” he stops as Steve huffs, lifting the bag.

“What do you have in there Jane, a pile of rocks?” 

“No, just lots of science,” Jane laughs as she quickly shoulders it. She barely feels the weight in it. She knows she should, but it’s been a surprisingly easy burden to carry this last month. Steve smiles and doesn’t seem to notice that if it was heavy for him it should be impossible for Jane to even lift. Thor says nothing, his hand still firmly clasped with hers. He looks between her, the bag, and Steve curiously.

Jane squeezes his hand. There’s a lot to explain.

 

—

 

Jane leads him into the room that they’ve been allowed to use while the Wakandan machines remake the pieces for Jane’s machine. Rocket has stayed in the lab, so has the Princess, but only because she has an alcove for herself in the room. Okoye has stayed with her. The rest of their remaining allies have been given guest rooms in the same hallway as him and Jane. Steve and Natasha decided to share, so did Banner and Colonel Rhodes. Nobody wants to be alone. 

It’s a huge room they’ve walked into with large windows and comfortable seating area. It reminds him of Asgard’s guest rooms. They had been just as grand, if not grander. They, like much of the palace, had all been decorated in burnish golds, marbles, and silks. Plush divans and wide sofas littered the room. The beds were always There had been an air of antiquity to them all, a testament to how long Asgard had stood.

Thor sighs. No longer... 

Quiet, he watches Jane move across the room.

This room feels smooth, sleek, and comfortable. There’s large sofas with a small table between them and there’s an elaborate wall division with cut out designs that separate the seating area and the bedroom. The chairs look plush and there’s two more doors that must lead to the washroom and wardrobe. Various greens, strong blues, and a touch of silver adorn the furnishings of the room. The Wakandan flag is prominent above the bed that is covered in deep green bedding. He can see tall floor to ceiling windows on the other side of the bedroom that open up into a balcony. Thor feels awkward as he stands at the threshold like he’s somehow too small for the room. A first, to be sure. 

The order from the Queen to rest is well heeded but he can’t. Not while Thanos is out there. He wants to lift up Strombreaker and hunt. He wants Thanos to hurt, to feel what it is to be pulled apart, and left broken in the ashes.

His fingers spark. He clenches his fist.

Jane drops her bag on the sofa as she picks up some bracelets left on the tray in the middle of the small table by it. There’s a note by them. Jane scans it for a second with an excited smile she can’t hide. For a brief second he is so incredibly annoyed with her.

“We need to talk about that,” he says, words clipped. His own voice sounds rough and empty to him. He does not like it. Breathing deeply, he tries again, but never gets a chance to soften his words.

Looking over her shoulder as she fiddles with said bracelet, Jane gives him the most unimpressed look. “Well, we need to talk about your eye and just what the hell happened in the last year. Loki? Bruce? Sister?” She tilts her head at him, eyes narrowed, “But first you need to shower.”

“Jane.”

“Thor.” She echoes his tone. The fondness and impatience that is familiar in their milder disagreements colours their words.

It’s takes five seconds before they both grin.

Some of the tension in his shoulders lessens as he walks fully into the room. Welcoming and lovely as it look, it’s Jane with her pressed lips and no nonsense manner that grounds him in this unfamiliar ground. Jane clasps the bracelet around her wrist with a grin and one of the beads activate.

“Wakandan kimoyo beads. They’re like the Apple Watch but way more advanced and cooler. Each bead does something different. This set is for guests, basic set, it looks like,” she explains, lifting the him the other in a silent question. 

He shakes his head and sets Strombreaker down by the table. Jane’s bag a beacon on the sofa they’re both ignoring for now. She’ll answer his questions and he’ll answer hers. They’ve always been frank with each other. The last year hadn’t changed that. Walking up to her, he reaches out to tuck a strand that wasn’t out place behind her ear. Her eyes meets his knowingly.

“Go shower. I bet it’s nicer than mine.” She winks for they both remember her tiny shower all too well. He missed that shower when he was travelling across the realms and planets trying to find information on the Infinity Stones. He missed that shower in Sutur’s cage. He missed it on Sakaar. On the Grandmaster’s stolen ship. He missed everything about that tiny shower and tiny mortal that would press against him, her hands smoothing over his skin, her body warm against his. 

“I don’t need a shower.”

“Yeah, you do,” she says softly, pursing her lips. “You probably need to eat, too.”

He can't help it, he grins. Jane’s not the most natural caregiver but there are moments she tries. She has the delicacy of a bulldozer when she does, but he adores her for it. “I’m not hungry.”

She rolls her eyes. “Sure you’re not. When’s the last time you ate?”

“When’s the last time _you_ ate?”

“Touché.”

This time she grins back her body leaning into his. He cups her face, letting her hair drape over his fingers. He almost kisses her, knowing it’d be welcome. However... It’s only now he notices how dirty his hands are compared to Jane’s clean face. His fingers still have dirt and blood on them from the events of the last few days. She is right, he realises, he needs to shower. He shouldn’t be touching her with so much filth and blood on him. Heimdall’s blood, Loki’s blood. Thano’s blood. His fingers twitch, spark.

Jane gasps.

Her hair frizzes out a bit.

Immediately, he lets go of her. “I’m sorry…”

She grabs at his hands. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s fine,” she pats down her hair haphazardly, “it’s just a little static electricity.”

“It’s not.” Their gazes lock and whatever Jane reads in his face sobers her. She pulls him towards her and he moves instinctively. They both know he’s stronger than her by far, but his body always bends to her like a flower looking for the sun. His power never flares out against her, never has, and he hopes never will. But right now he’s too undone by so much and he can’t put the entire burden of holding him together on her. She frames his face much like he just did to her and lifts herself onto her toes to kiss his jaw. He clenches his fists at his side but dare not touch her again. Not with _his_ blood on him. 

“Okay, it’s not. We’ll talk about that too, but first,”

“Shower,” he finishes for her. He lets her step back.

She nods. “I’ll get us some food. You’re right, I should eat too.” She saying to appease him, he knows, but for all of Jane’s terrible bedside manner she is ultimately kind and she loves him. That hasn’t changed, just like his love for her hasn’t changed. And what have they done since they first met but try and help each other.

 

—

 

Once Thor is in the bathroom, Jane steels herself for her next mission. Shower, check. Food, clean clothes, rest coming up. She’s going mostly by how Darcy and Thor would deal with her after work marathons, but every once in a while when he was still on Earth full time there would be an Avengers mission that would drain Thor. Darcy would always be in charge of getting the food, but she’s not— Darcy’s gone. It hits her then, again, forcing her to sit down for a full minute trying not to cry. It’s been hitting her in small waves over the last few hours, but crying isn’t going to help anyone right now.

Jane traces the kimoyo bracelet. Yeah, they’ve got things to do.

One of the kimoyo beads gives her the layout of the guest room and low and behold behind one of the panels in the room there is a fridge of food and drink. Jane pulls out all the ones that she knows Thor will go for. He like hearty stuff, packed with protein, and flavour. There’s juices and soda and energy drinks. She pulls out the juices for Thor and downs an energy drink.

Food, check.

Walking to the other door than the one Thor just went in, Jane hopes that Wakanda guest room at least had robes, as she looked into the closet.

And… they do!

Clothes, check. Kinda. 

Grabbing too, because they look so soft, Jane lays out the large black and green robe on the bed for Thor. She had heard the clunk and thunk of him talking off his armour and she hoped that he wouldn’t put it back on, it was so dirty— oh wait a minute, better make sure. 

“Thor,” she shouts, propping the bathroom door open, “I found something for you to wear. It’s clean! I’m leaving it by the sink!” She steps it, messily folding the robe in her arms, and glances over the bathroom. It’s pretty freaking big, to quote Darcy, she thinks, a small smile gracing her face. Darcy would have loved this. She’s not going to let her down. She takes in the whole bathroom and… oh yeah, that’s the shower alright. It’s big, fancy. Glass. 

Jane is not unfamiliar with Thor body by a long shot, but it’s been a while and well, she loves his stupid sexy body as much as she loves his adorably giant heart and secretly genius brain. 

She bumps into the counter with a wince. “Shit.”

“Jane, are you okay?” Thor turns to her from the shower. The glass is fogged but it’s clear they’re facing each other.

“Yeah, just…” she looks down and kicks one of his boots. “Your boots.” At least you didn’t say butt, Foster.

“Sorry, love! I’ll be right out.”

In that second it feels they’ve gone back in time to when they were living her small flat in London or they would stay at the Avenger’s Tower and he’d always leave his boots or armour laying around in the bathroom or bedroom after a mission or training session. She’d always trip over it if she wasn’t paying attention. He’d always apologise and put it away after he finished changing or showering. 

“It’s okay. Robe’s by the sink. I found food, too.”

Thor wipes the condensation from the glass and tries to look at her. It’s still a little blurry, but it’s enough. “Thank you,” he whispers, too low for her to really hear over the spray of water, but it’s there in the shape of his lips.

By the time he comes out, she’s shrugged off her jacket and is barefoot and crossed-legged on the sofa. Her notebook is on her lap, her bag is open by her feet. There’s a plate of crumbs on the table. She’s been sending Shuri some messages via the beads. They’re too cool.

Thor settles by her side, his own naked foot hitting her bag. His hair is damp, his naturally dark blonde locks, looking a deep brown, even darker than her own hair. His face is scrubbed clean of the dirt and blood, his eyes still don’t match. He reaches to grab a chunk of bread and some cheese she found and takes a long drink from one of the juices. Jane watches him, seeing really the frayed edges he’s been trying to hide. He looks…

“You look tired.”

He turns to her, chewing slow. He swallows and smiles softly at her. His saddest smile. “Weary, not tired. At difficult as the fight was, I could have lasted longer.”

“How much longer?”

He turns away, eyes steady on the fruit. “As long as I would have needed too.”

She nods, not surprised at all at that and _that_ makes her sad for him, for them, all over again. Gently, she strokes his unevenly cut hair, kisses his cheek. “It’s a bad haircut, by the way.”

The short laugh at escapes him lets her know she caught him off guard. He looks at her again, his blue eye bright, his darker— brown? hazel? eye trying to match it. He pulls her close, almost into his lap, and kisses her. It’s soft, slow, with just enough lightning at the edges to send goosebumps down her spine. They haven’t kissed in ages, almost a year and half now, but it’s a rush of trying to catch up or make up for lost time (not yet), if anything it’s about coming home. Her mouth opens under the pull of his lips and coaxing of his tongue and he responds equally readily to her. He lets her reacquaint herself with the shape of his lips, the rasp of his beard, and the warmth of his mouth. 

When they pull away it’s like wave being dragged back to the ocean. Natural with the knowledge something deeper and constant lies behind the pull. 

Foreheads resting against each other, Jane asks her first question. “You gonna tell me how you got it?” 

Thor sees the question for what it really is. He glances down at the bag at their feet.

“Time to talk?”

“Time to figure some shit out.”

Rest… can wait, for now. Other things can’t.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for my other [fosterson week](http://hariboo.tumblr.com/tagged/fosterson%20week) posts


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “How did you find it?”

“How did you find it?”

 

Jane sighs and moves back to sit against the sofa’s seat. She picks up her bag and pulls out his hammer’s handle as she starts explaining the events of the day she found it. There’s some metal still attached to it. Broken chunks, ripped and broken apart at the edges, and it feels like his soul. Jane handles the hammer carefully and sets it on the table and then pulls out more. There’s big and small pieces of the hammer on the table and for a second Thor is afraid to touch anything about it.

 

“The Bifrost was still burning when I got to Norway. I could tell something had happened and then I saw it. It was stuck on the ground and I didn’t even think twice when I grabbed it. It sparked and I could lift it. I tried to figure out where you went, but the machine wasn’t powerful enough. I was trying to make it so I could find you,” she says, voice low. She picks up the handle again and hands it over to him.

 

Gingerly, Thor closes his fingers over the handle. There’s a little magic left in it. He looks over at Jane, feeling so kind and grateful for her, for her knowledge of him and her understanding of him. “Thank you, Jane. It would have been…” he sets the handle on his lap and touches her cheek, “probably dangerous and complicated but to have you with me these last few weeks would have been most welcome. Loki was… the closest to how he used to be, the brother I remember, and then he was gone again. Asgard was not what I thought it was, but I loved it all the same. Heimdall and the Warriors Three they… they fought for the Asgard we believed in. And Hela. She—“

 

“You don’t have to tell me everything now, you know,” Jane covers his hand over the handle and squeezes them as hard she can. She cups his jaw and turns him to face her. Her eyes are warm, accepting. He tries to smiles, but knows he doesn’t manage it.

 

“I want to, I need you to know, because this,” he gestures to what’s left of the hammer, “and if you want to choose it,” _choose me again_ , he thinks, “you need to know. Hela was… The hammer was hers before it was mine. She was my parents first-born. She helped my father shape Asgard through invasion and war and then when she wanted more of it, when she wanted Asgard Father did not agree and banished her. His passing released her and she— She’s the one that broke the hammer. She was more powerful than myself and Loki combine. Finding the Hulk and Valkyrie was chance and even then she was still more powerful. We had to— we are why Asgard is gone. We woke Sutur with the Flame and he and Hela consumed each other and Asgard. We took off on a stolen ship and watch it supernova. And then a week later, on our way here, Thanos came upon us. Loki had taken the Tesseract.” He chuckles because of course his brother did.

 

Jane wraps her arms around him the second he finished speaking, burying herself in his side. Thor pulls her in, pressing his face into her hair. “It would have dangerous to have you around, but I would have felt steadier.”

 

“I’m so sorry, Thor, I’m so sorry,” she kisses his cheeks, his lips, and hugs him closer.

 

“I’ve lost everything except you, Jane.”

 

“Hey, not everything,” she shifts and touches the handle of the hammer. “Sif may still be out there and if she doesn’t find us before we leave, she has other allies here. There are people left, many of us who won’t let this be. There’s still Avengers left, there’s still… a chance, Thor. We’re still alive and we won’t give up.”

 

He thinks back to something she said back when she first arrived. “Is this why you wondered about Nidavellir? To fix the hammer?” He sets what’s left of it back on the table and stares at it. That could work. The rings were spinning again, Eitri would need help but they could do it. He could have Mijnlnor back.

 

Jane smiles up at him, “I was going to ask the Wakandans first, but yeah. Their science is the closest to your from what I can tell. I didn’t want you to be without it if you needed it, but you’re doing okay.”

 

He could not have ever imagined Jane with her brilliance, her spirit, her determination. “And getting off planet?”

 

“Getting off planet was gonna be a breeze… when I thought I could still contact Hiemdall, but I also built a hyperspace drive for a Quintjet once, I can do it again.”

 

Thor nods, he remembers that month of her and Tony trying to one up each other. They had almost died when they blew up two warehouses, but in the end they managed their goal. It had to have been the Quintjet that Hulk had been in to reach Sakaar.

 

“And now?”

 

“Well, I’m about to build a portal in three hours, but if you want to go Nidavellir first, I’ll go with you. Shuri, Rocket, and Bruce can handle the machine. We can get the hammer fixed and come back.”

 

“Possibly, but first lets help those who are here.” _Those who are left._ As much as he’d like to be selfish and get his hammer back, there are others who need him. He may not have a kingdom anymore, but the universe is not empty. Valkyrie, Krog, and the others may still live, Stark may still be out there, he has friends in these ways who need him. Jane is still here and she hopped across the world to get to him to help. He loves her for it. He loves her. It burns so bright in him, brighter than he ever thought it could, and the words spill out of him against her hair.

 

She tucks herself closer, whispering the words back at him, and they settle in the couch for a second. Jane’s face is pressed against his chest and he smoothes his hand down her back. She sighs into him, curling up. They sink into the sofa and Thor lays them down. It’s a large couch with surprisingly more than enough room for him to spread out. A rarity in Midgard. Jane stretches out over him and it’s so familiar, so welcome her weight on him. If he is lightning then she is his grounding pole.

 

There’s still left over engery in his body, but for the first time in a week it feels quiet. His power rolls comfortably within him and his pain and anger are lessened in this moment. They needed a plan, they have one in the making, and Jane is by his side.

 

When she moves and his eyes open, it’s then he realises he had closed them. She rises up over him and gently touches his hair. “I was gonna let you nap.”

 

He shakes his head. “I don’t need a nap,” he reaches out and slips his hand up her hips, under her shirt. Jane sucks in breath. “ _Thor_.”

 

His hand skate up her side and around her back. “We have three hours before you have to build your portal maker.”

 

Jane bites her lips and considers him. Her hand drift down to his exposed collarbones and finger the opening on the robe. For the first time since he’s exited the washroom he’s very aware he’s practically naked under her and it seems she does too.

 

It takes her a second to decide.

 

Another to grab her own her shirt and pull it off. He works at her bra and it’s off before her shirt hits the floor. Their fingers tangle when untying his robe. Her jeans follow soon after. This time they let themselves be pulled under when their lips meet.

 

It’s not rushed, it’s not desperate. It’s slow and familiar. He looks into her eyes the whole time as he buries himself in deep and she gasps at stretch of him. It’s been a while and it takes her time. Thor is in no rush, his power rolls languorously through him, comfortable with the pace they set. He adjusts their position so they’re more comfortably situated on the sofa, in a position that he knows works the best for both of them. The desire he feels for Jane is constant and usually all consuming, especially after a battle, when his adrenaline is at it’s highest, but right now, it’s softer. Release isn’t the goal. He just wants to be able to feel her against him. Feel her warmth and watch her skin flush with pleasure and life. He wants to look at her and know she is with him. That he is with her.

 

They are together again and for a second life is just them. For that second it is enough.

 

She grabs for a hand to balance as they change pace, her mouth gasping against his. Her other hand wraps around his neck. He pulls her tight against him, stomaches touching, chests pressed together so closely he can feel her heart beat against his skin. When she climaxes, it as always, triggers his. Her pleasure has always been his biggest undoing. This time it takes over both of them like the rolling of thunder clouds in the horizon second before the first strike of lightning appears.

 

It sparks between them bright and powerful.

 

Jane collapses against him and he holds her to him tightly. They’re in the eye of the storm for now, but it’s not over yet.

 

—

 

Towelling her hair, Jane eyes Thor as he sits on the bed. He looks…

 

“Your such a guy sometimes. Food, sex, nap, and you like you’re ready to take down an army again. I hate you and your alien stamina.” She tosses the towel at him. She’s amused when he catches it and folds it neatly by him on the bed.

 

He chuckles, low and way too pleased with himselfas he reach out for her. She really hadn’t planned on Round Two in the shower or even Round One on the sofa, but hey, you only live once, and she had missed him. She’s worn the ring he made in Nidavellir on her finger since they made it. Even his leaving didn’t change that. She takes his hand and lets him pull her to him. Standing between his legs, his robe practically indecent again, she runs a finger under his new eye.

 

“You haven’t told me about this yet.”

 

He quirks his mouth into a resigned grimace. “Hela felt it was proper I should look more like Father. Symbolism, I believe.” He takes her finger and kisses it. “This one, however, Rocket gifted it to me during our trip to Nidavellir. Thought it better for me to see with both eyes if we were to fight Thanos. I believe he felt sorry for me and trying to be nice. It was sticky, but it’s connected to my nerves by now and I can see fairly well. It’s a bit awkward, the colours are more muted.”

 

“Huh, interesting.”

 

He tugs her close to stand between his legs, pressing a kiss against her lips when she’s close enough. “Do you want me to pop my eye out so you can study it, Jane?”

 

Really the way he says her name sometimes should be illegal across the galaxy.

 

“No!” She blushes, “Well, maybe, but after. Rocket’s right you might as well use it now.”

 

She loops her arms around his neck, letting him wrap his arms around her. When he presses his face against her neck she feels him blink and the wetness that follows. There’s something like relief or release in the way his shoulders fall slack and his hands curl into the fabric of her top. Slowly, she runs her hand through his hair and lets a few of her own tears slip out. When he pulls back, he wipes her cheeks, his own cheeks damp. Jane runs her thumbs under his eyes and kisses his forehead.

 

“I’m so glad you’re alive, Thor. I’m so glad that you were here when I ran into that room. I don’t want to think about what it would have been like if you hadn’t been.”

 

“Seeing you rush past the guards that were escorting you was the first good thing that has happened to me in weeks. It feels terrible to say, even having reconciled with Loki as we had, and finally seeing the brother I recognised once again,” he says, looking away. “But there was no time to rejoice in it. He was gone again.”

 

Jane wants to ask how sure he was about that, but bites her lips not to. She’ll ask later when he’s not still being torn apart with guilt. He has loved his brother through the worst of him, implying another false death would do nobody any good. If Loki shows up she’ll be glad for Thor and hopes he’ll forgive her when she portals Loki to Pluto for doing this to him again.

 

“Do you think we can... undo this?” She asks instead. The Aether had changed reality, she had felt that power in her bones. Essentially Thanos had amplified its ability with the power of the other stones. If they can find the stones and gauntlet again it should be possible to unmake Thanos’ will.

 

Thor’s eyes meet hers unflinchingly. “I could not hope that much before, but I want to believe we can now.”

 

That’s answer enough for her. She’s worked with worse odds. Once upon a time nobody believed in her at all. Then she ran over a fallen god in a storm cloud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the end? 
> 
>  
> 
> so technically i have a couple more scenes (carol shows up, we go to to nidavellir, etc) in my head because I can very easily just turn this into my spec for avengers 4, but i'm letting it lie here for now. part of this is bc way back in chapter one's comments i got an idea for the hammer. in my mind it was always broken bc i was keeping this fic as much "in canon" as i could, but then i realised how i'd changed that and have the hammer be whole again. so, look out for that.... sooooon??????
> 
> and if i do more fosterson week stuff it'll all be here: [fosterson week](http://hariboo.tumblr.com/tagged/fosterson-week)


End file.
